Wartime Brothers 1944

September 1944

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Hugh

Keith

Joan

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September 1944

Logbook entries September 1944
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Keith's diary 28th August - 3rd September 1944
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Keith's diary entries

September

Fri. 1

No alert: Went to the Depot. Dried onions most of the morning and hoed leeks the rest of the day. Pay day. Had to go to the Treasury Offices to collect last weeks pay. Babs showed me her photograph albums & I showed her mine. Got another puncture. Ian has gone overseas ! Dieppe & Verdun taken. Belgium entered. Monty made a F. Marshall.

Sat. 2

No alert. Went to the Depot, hoed. Margaret out. Showery, didn't do much work. Went to the Elite. Peter Wilson is a Prisioner of War. Gothic line breached. Vimy taken.

Sun. 3

No alert. Went to St. Matthew's. Pretty rotten service. National Day of Prayer. Read & mucked about in the afternoon. Went to the Club in the evening. Had two games of billiards, lost both. Had some practices. Came home tired & dreamy.

Keith's diary 4th - 10th September 1944
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Keith's diary entries

September

Mon. 4

Mum didn't wake me as I was so dreamy last night, and I had the day off. got up about 6. Rained a lot in the afternoon. Stuck photographs in during the evening. Calais, Boulogne & Brussels taken. On the borders of Holland.

Tues. 5

As I was a bit dreamy I didn't go in till 9 o'clock. Went to the Rec: dug self sets. Then moved over to the rick. In the afternoon got the straw ready for thatching, did very little. Saw Elizabeth. Letter from Babs. Antwerp taken, Luxebourg entered. Everywhere fine & dandy, Sherwood away.

Wed. 6

Sherwood back, he has been down with 'flu. Went to Keswick. Margaret & Daphne & Shylock came over at 11 & stopped until 3 when Margaret went home. Mainly stooking the wheat sheaves. Grigg just announced that he has flown across France in an unarmed plane & without fighter escort.

Thu. 7

Blackout to be lifted to a dim out. Story of how the flying bombs were defeated to-day. Went to the Rec. Rained from early this morning until about 4, so did no work at all except to clean out the lavatories. Played chess & draughts.

Fri. 8

Went to the Rec:, but we moved to the By-Pass Field. Pulled carrots. About 2 O'clock Bob came for me to go up to the rick. Pitched & generally tidied up. Pay-day. Rained a bit. Dreamy in the evening. Saw a Hurricane IId. Heard gunfire at night.

Sat. 9

Went to the by-Pass Field. Only Sherwood in. Pulled carrots. Paddy & Darky arrived about 10. Parcel from Joan, a book, 'Story of a Norfolk Farm'. Went to Kingston, bought a book for Joan, by 'Gun Buster.' Got a new pair of breeches. Mrs. Jackson comes back, seemed please with my letters.

Sun. 10

Went to Surbiton Hill Methodist Harvest Festival. Went with Mrs. Jackson for a walk in Claygate in the afternoon. Went to the Youth Club in the evening. Played a game of billiards, lost, and 5 of table tennis, won 3. Dreamy.

Keith's diary 11th - 17th September 1944
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Keith's diary entries

September

Mon. 11

My 18th birthday. Got two books on farming from Mum and £1-11-0 all told. Cold morning. Went to the By-Pass Field, pulled & topped carrots. Saw Elizabeth. Rang up Joan, wished her many returns & thanked her for the book, all of which was returned. Hugh rang up to do the same. Pam rang up as wants to stay over to-morrow night. Broken through Albert Canal.

Tues. 12

Some big bangs origin undefined. Went to the by-Pass Field, topped carrots. Paddy came. Pam came, she hasn't changed a lot - still very nice. Her boy friend Don looks O.K. Late to bed. Fighting on German soil.

Wed. 13

Went 1/2 hour late to By-Pass Field, topped carrots all day. Loaded up 29 sacks in the evening. Margaret not good in the morning but she was better in the afternoon. Heard from a pretty reliable source that 17 rocketsm tge V2, have dropped, Mrs. Lucas starts her fornight's holiday. Pam went home, but she maybe up again soon.

Thu. 14

Went to the By-Pass Field. Topped, lifted & sacked carrots. American forces 1 mile south of Aachen. Dreamy. Oiled my bike. Had a bath. Aunty Bess gives me a picture.

Fri. 15

Went to the By-Pass Field, pulling carrots, then moved over to the Rec, doing the same. Had a fit in my room at night. 3 rockets in the nightime 2 in the afternoon. Payday.

Sat. 16

Alert in the night, flying bombs. Went in at 9. Margaret not there. Got up 5 or 6 sacks from the Rec. 2 rockets. Bussed to walk & back. Went to the Odeon. Saw Elizabeth at work. Joan in for tea, Hugh turns up about 8. The hour goes back.

Sun. 17

Got up comparatively early for me. Wrote to Aunt Emily, and started a letter to Ian. Winsors came for tea. A couple of bonny kids. Fairly quiet evening. Short alert. We've landed paratroops in Holland. dim-out instead of black out.

Keith's diary 18th - 24th September 1944
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Keith's diary entries

September

Mon. 18

Went to the Rec: but Jack collected us about 8.15 & took us to the Depôt to pull onions. In the afternoon I was bagging up carrots & spuds. Hugh took Mum out. Dreary day. another rocket. Saw a 'Tempest'.

Tues. 19

Went to the Rec:, pulled onions in the morning. Sacked up the carrots in the afternoon, and then went back to onion pulling. Hugh staying with Joan. Rang up Brenda to tell her to come to the yard tomorrow. Eindhaven taken. Took Margaret a piece of my birthday cake - she said it was almost pre-war.

Wed. 20

Went to the Depôt picked onions until 2. when Jack took us to the Rec. and I packed up carrots. Brenda came. Had a fit about 4.Taken home in a van. Boulogne taken. Alert in the evening & in the night.

Thu. 21

Had a bath. Hugh, Mum & I went to see Aunt Emily at St. Leonards. quite an enjoyable day,

Fri. 22

Went to the Rec:, gathered and burned weeds all the morning. Mrs French is leaving the café to-morrow. Went to the by-Pass Field and burned the weeds there, then came back to the Rec: & dug carrots. Brenda came for a couple of hours. Payday. Hugh bought me a lovely pair of slippers. Alert. Hugh went back.

Sat. 23

Went to the Rec:, pulled carrots. Margaret out. Slid downstairs last night hurt my backside. Saw Hilary & Elizabeth. Went to the Granada. Had a nice quiet evening.

Sun. 24

Got up late. Read all day. Got a cold from some place or other. Got a pain in my side. Went dreamy badly twice, once when an alert went; Mum nearly went crazy. Pete arrived home in the middle of it.

Keith's diary 25th September - 1st October 1944
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Keith's diary entries

September

Mon. 25

A couple of alerts in the night. Got up late. Went to Kingston with Pete in the afternoon. Bought a book "The County of London Plan", Booked tickes for a show. Churhill back in England. V. dreamy. A White Paper on Benefits released.

Tues. 26

Made the partitions for the cutlery drawer. It's not too bad. Went to Kingston in the afternoon, bought a brown sports jacket. My cold has come on again.

Wed. 27

Got up about 10. Went up to Town, had dinner with Pete at Simpsons in the Strand and then went to the Savoy Theatre. Went to the Youth Club had a game of billiards & snooker. Lost both, & a couple of sets of table tennis & won one. Miss Lucas back. We've withdrawn 2,000 men out of over 8,000 from Arnhem. Damn bad news. Watch gone haywire.

Thu. 28

Got up fairly early & Pete, Mum & I went to Liphook. Had a good time, everybody got on well. Got back about 8.20.

Fri. 29

Collected the cigarette case from the 'cop-shop'. Cleaned my bike in the afternoon. Was accepted by Grylls as a panel patient. Went to Stotts. He actually made a joke! Pete went back fairly cheerfully. Couple of alerts in the evening but nothing happened.

Sat. 30

Started to get up, had a fit in the bathroom. Mum had to get one of the Adams' brothers in to break down the door. Rested in the afternoon and evening. Latish to bed. Raining. Alert last night.

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